


Oliver Returns

by CarmillAddario



Category: Everything Sucks (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-22
Updated: 2018-05-22
Packaged: 2019-05-10 06:07:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14731385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CarmillAddario/pseuds/CarmillAddario
Summary: When Oliver returns to Boring High, Emaline is sure she doesn't want him back. But will his return remind her that she might have moved on too fast with Kate Messner?





	Oliver Returns

Kate Messner never expected the girl of her dreams to look twice at her.

Emaline Addario was beautiful, bold, talented…everything Kate _wanted_ to be, but never quite felt like she _was_. 

And then there was the complicating factor of Emaline’s boyfriend, Oliver, who openly disrespected Emaline and thrived on airing their personal business. (In fairness, Emaline was equally guilty of these qualities, but Kate could _always_ find a reason not to fault her for it. Funny how love does that.)

Oliver and Emaline could, in their prime, be spotted _devouring_ each other anywhere and everywhere in Boring High. They didn’t seem to care who saw them, who envied them, or who was disgusted by them. The world was their stage, and they were more than happy to put on a show.

Having experienced the Oliver and Emaline show for the better part of a year, Kate was understandably surprised when Emaline came to her mere _days_ after Oliver’s departure, eyes soft and vulnerable, and confessed her feelings in the stairwell. (Even if they _did_ share the most incredible almost-kiss in history at a hotel in California.)

“Do you like me?”

“What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean.” Emaline fiddled with Kate’s pant cuff nervously. “I like you. Is that ok?”

“Yes.”

Kate had never gotten _exactly_ the thing she’d wanted most in the world before, and in that moment she found she didn’t quite know how to handle it. But Emaline was warm, and considerate, and the moments they shared in the days after her stairway confession were some of the sweetest of Kate’s life.

And though she loved – _loved_ \- the feeling of being with Emaline, she didn’t quite trust it.  

Less than two weeks after their first kiss on the stage, and just _two_ _days_ after Emaline had officially asked Kate to be her girlfriend (during their first dinner with Mr. Messner - a _heap_ of takeout from The Crouton Factory that Emaline had picked up to win him over), Kate finally realized what was keeping her from trusting Emaline completely.

Oliver.

She’d realized it because Oliver was suddenly there, in front of her locker, asking if she’d seen Emaline.  Just like it was any other Friday.

“Oh…you’re back.” Kate’s tone was a mix of defeat and horrible, unwanted surprise.

“Keen insight, Miss Messner, but I was asking about my _girlfriend_. I’m told she’s been hanging around you quite a bit these last weeks? Know where I can find her?”

If Kate weren’t devastated, not to mention blindsided, she’d have been thisclose to slapping the smug look off of his face. But as it happened, she was dealing with a heartbreak she seemed to know intuitively would be just around the corner.

“No. I’m late to AV.” Kate slammed her locker shut and vanished as quickly as she could.

***

**_2 days earlier..._ **

Ken Messner was on the verge of bursting when Kate finally cut him off from breadsticks.

“Dad, you know you’re going to regret eating all the breadsticks. We go through this _every_ time,” Kate chuckled.

“Honey, Emaline went out of her way to order extra! It would be rude to throw them away.” Kate just rolled her eyes and walked the breadsticks into the kitchen and away from her father’s grasp on the dining room table.

Emaline watched the easy way Kate cared for her dad, and couldn’t help but feel the faintest hint of jealousy. She’d never had an easy relationship with either of her parents; they hadn’t been around much, and they didn’t show much interest in her when they _were_ around.

She guessed that was a big part of the reason she and Kate were so different.

She smiled as she thought about how well their differences seemed to compliment each other, at least from what she’d gathered in the weeks they’d been seeing each other. 

Or, dating.

Or…well…

She decided this was as good a time as any to get things straightened out.

“What are you smiling about over there?” Kate asked at that moment, demonstrating the almost perfect synchronicity Emaline felt like they’d achieved since that night on the stage after the premiere.

“Actually I’m glad you asked,” Emaline beamed.

She had started to really fall for Kate, and it showed. She was _happy_.

“Kate, I’m _crazy_ about you. I don’t want to be confused or casual about what we are to each other; I want to be _yours_. I _am_ yours. Will you be my girlfriend?”

Kate’s eyes were wide and her mouth hung open a bit, as it tended to when she was caught off-guard. She looked at her father, who didn’t seem _quite_ as surprised as she was (it was hard to be surprised about any of what Emaline was saying when he’d

watched her gaze at Kate with pure adoration for two solid weeks). He had a small smile on his face while he eyed Kate questioningly. 

Leave it to Emaline to want an audience for this moment, Kate thought. She couldn’t find it in herself to be embarrassed, though.

She was too busy being _completely_ over the moon.

She snapped back to reality and to the question at hand. “Em, of _course_ I will. I’ve been ready to call you my girlfriend for ages,” she grinned.

Her _girlfriend_. Emaline Addario was her girlfriend! And her dad seemed cool with it!

Kate didn't know what she had done to deserve this, but she was determined to hold onto it for as long as she could.

After dinner, she walked Emaline to her car.

“Thanks for takeout, and for charming the hell out of my dad.”

“I think it was the _Crouton Factory_ that charmed the hell out of your dad, but I’ll take what I can get,” Emaline quipped. Kate grinned. She could get used to an easy familiarity between Emaline and her father. In fact, she couldn't wait to.

“Goodnight, Em,” Kate said dreamily after a goodbye kiss that sent a white-hot flash up and down her body. “Call your girlfriend when you get home so she knows you’re safe,” she winked.

“Of course,” Emaline grinned. “See you soon, sweetie.”

***

 **_The afternoon of Oliver’s return…_ **

Kate was pretty much a zombie at this point.

Sure, she went through the motions and she hit her marks, but inside, she was as good as dead.

She hadn’t seen Emaline since Oliver had shown up that morning asking Kate about her, and Kate didn’t exactly take that as a _good_ sign. Even though she’d half-expected it, it hurt.

Oh god, it _hurt_.

Some small part of Kate had known, ever since that night at the hotel in California, that Emaline _miiiiight_ just be using her to distract from the pain of having been left by Oliver.  She didn’t think Emaline was doing it on purpose, and she didn’t doubt that Emaline had developed real feelings for her.

But none of that seemed to matter now.

Because now the guy who’d dumped Emaline (less than a _day_ before she’d cozied up to Kate) had just waltzed back into Boring High, calling Emaline his girlfriend and unknowingly tormenting Kate like he’d never even _left_.

Kate didn’t feel like she stood a chance with Emaline now that Oliver was back, and to top it all off, she felt dumb as hell for not listening to her gut about this sooner. Of _course_ she was just a distraction.

She was never in Emaline Addario’s league, anyway.

Kate threw her books into her bag after last period and walked out the door.

***

Emaline was never one for mature emotional conversations before she met Kate.

But in the short while since they’d been together, Kate’s adorable candor had helped Emaline see the value in being open, honest, and vulnerable.

When Emaline heard that morning that Oliver had returned and that he’d been looking for her, her first instinct was to forget _all that_ and revert straight back to the Emaline she’d been before he left: childish, vindictive, and scared.

She sat in the back of the auditorium, unsure what to do with the rising tide of anger she hadn’t dealt with _at all_ since Oliver left.

(She’d known deep down since Oliver’s departure that she’d have to face the emotional consequences of their breakup sooner or later, but Kate had proved a _delightful_ and well-timed distraction, so how could she be blamed?)

(Not that Kate was a mere distraction.)

(Dammit, she had a LOT to think through.)

“I knew I’d find you here.” Oliver said from behind her, rudely interrupting her thoughts.

“What are you doing back, Oliver?”

“You don’t seem surprised to see me,” he circled around to look her in the eye.

“I knew you’d never actually make it in New York,” Emaline laughed condescendingly. She couldn’t resist the opportunity to hurt him.

Old habits die hard.

“Hey, what kind of welcome back is that for your boyfriend? New York just…wasn’t working out. Besides, I missed you.” He pouted. “And what are you _wearing_?”

Oliver took in her nose ring and baggy ripped jeans. “Who are you trying to be today, darling? Courtney Love? To what end?”

Emaline took the bait. (Old habits). “What do you mean, ‘to what end’?”

“I mean, dear Emaline, who are you trying to seduce with that look?”

“Maybe I just like it…” Emaline trailed off in a rare display of self-consciousness.

“You don’t know _what_ you like until someone tells you.”

That one hit just a _touch_ too close to the bone. “What do you _want_ , Oliver?”

The smug look on his face gave way to more theatrical pouting. “I want to go back to the way we were, and I want to apologize for the way I treated you when I left. I did pack a picture of you to take with me to New York, if it’s any consolation, my muse. I could never have forgotten you.”

Ugh, _his muse_. Was there ever a time Emaline actually enjoyed this garbage?

“You don’t even know me. You knew the girl who would have done anything to get your attention,” said Emaline, realizing that she’d truly turned a corner where her feelings for Oliver were concerned. “That girl disappeared the same day you did, and she’s never coming back.”

Oliver looked surprised. “Where’s all this coming from, Pookie?”

“Get lost, Oliver. We’re done.”

Emaline was learning a lot about herself today. Chief on that list; she was through believing Oliver’s attention was worth a damn.

*** 

When Kate finally turned onto her block that evening, it was just after sunset.

She’d walked around Boring a bit, lost in thought, half of her arguing that she shouldn’t jump to any conclusions until she talked to Emaline, and the other half trying to protect herself by assuming and preparing for the worst.

She didn’t technically know what was going on yet. But in order to find out what was going on, she’d have to talk to Emaline. And she didn’t feel ready for that.

She didn't feel ready to have the conversation that would end in her losing Emaline.

But, as she approached her house and saw a small figure huddled on her front steps, she knew she wouldn’t have much choice.

“Hey.” For the first time in weeks, Emaline wasn’t smiling as she greeted Kate.

“Hey,” Kate answered warily.

“Can we talk?”

“Emaline…you don’t have to make this complicated. I know Oliver’s back. It’s…I always knew he had most of your heart, you know? It’s fine, you don’t have to feel bad. We can just go back to being friends.”

(She never wanted to be ‘just friends” with Emaline Addario ever again. But she would, if that’s what Emaline wanted.)

“I can’t go back to just being friends with you, Kate,” Emaline said, surprise evident in her voice.

Kate couldn’t help but appreciate how in-sync they were, even as they seemed on the verge of breaking up. The cruel irony wasn’t lost on her.

“But I…don’t think I ever really processed my issues with Oliver, either. And I didn’t realize that until today, when I saw him.”

“Oh…ok,” said Kate, unsure where this left them.

“I think I need some time to think about things. Is that ok?” 

The last three words cut through Kate like a knife. She recalled when they’d been murmured to her in such a different context. The _sweetest_ context. To hear them like this was almost punishing.

“That’s fine. I’ll just…I’ll talk to you when you’ve had a few weeks.”

“Oh...ok. I didn’t exactly mean we couldn’t talk in the meantime…”

Kate sighed. She’d had had a long day, and she didn’t feel like dealing with the uncertainty of mixed signals.

“Well then I don't know what you want from me here, you know?” Kate broke.

Emaline looked a little shocked; Kate had never snapped at her like that. She couldn’t blame Kate for feeling angry, but knowing that she’d brought this out in Kate made her feel about 100 times worse.

Kate continued. “I don’t want to stop talking any more than you do. Jesus, we JUST became girlfriends two days ago,” Kate recalled, wincing a bit with the pain of the emotional whiplash she was undergoing. “But you just told me you’re not over your last breakup and you need some time. So I’m giving it to you.” Kate walked past Emaline on the stairs and moved to open her front door.

As she yanked open the handle, she seemed to think better of ending the conversation this way. She sighed again, and turned to speak over her shoulder.

“I’m sorry… it’s just…I’m about to lose the only girl I’ve _ever_ cared about to a terrible person who doesn't deserve her _or_ treat her right. And I don’t have the first clue how to handle any of it, as a friend _or_ as a girlfriend.” With that, she disappeared into the house, leaving a heartbroken, stunned Emaline on her porch.

***

It had been 7 long, _looong_ days since Kate and Emaline had spoken.

On paper, Kate’s life had returned to its pre-Emaline status quo pretty easily; she hung out with Luke and planned their next movie, she ate takeout with her dad, she watched questionable broadcast television because they _still_ didn’t have cable.

But Kate knew better than to fall for this sense of normalcy; she knew inside she was simply numb. Devastated, heartbroken, and numb.

It was the same way she’d felt after her mom died, although not to the same degree. Kate had been hoping to never feel _one_ _ounce_ of that kind of pain ever again.

She was just getting ready to head home and indulge the numbness with another afternoon of mediocre television when she felt a timid hand on her arm.

“Hi Kate,” came a wary voice.

Kate never realized how much she could miss a voice, or that someone could _sound_ like home.

“Can we talk?”

As though Kate could ever deny Emaline _anything_.  

“Of course.”

***

Kate and Emaline sat in the front row of the auditorium, one seat between them. 

(Kate didn’t trust herself to sit right next to Emaline when all she could think about was how achingly she missed the feel of her. Best to keep a platonic distance.)

“So, how are you?”

Kate chuckled. “Really, Em?”

Emaline smiled stiffly. “I don’t know how to start here, or even what to say.”

Kate looked perplexed. “Ok…so, why did you want to talk then?” She wasn’t rude about it, just confused and still a little bruised. “Have you…made a decision?”

Now Emaline was the one who was confused. “Am I supposed to be deciding something?”

Both girls were sad to notice that they seemed to have fallen out of sync.

“I guess I assumed you were deciding between being with Oliver and, you know, being with me.”

“Kate, that’s not…I’m not going back to Oliver. That’s not what this time has been about. If I’ve learned anything from being with you the last few weeks, it’s that I’m much happier being with someone who _cares_ about me. Oliver just…isn’t what I want anymore.”

Kate was extremely happy to hear this, but when she saw Emaline’s face didn’t reflect the same joy, she pressed on with caution.

“Ok, so what are you saying? Oliver’s out of the picture...right?”

Emaline took a breath. “Well, not exactly. I definitely don’t want to be with him again, but the effects of my relationship with him…they’re still there. Like, he’s made me realize I’m still _way_ too willing to completely change the way I look and act just to be what people want,” Emaline said, unconsciously tugging on the flannel shirt she’d bought because it was Kate’s favorite color. “That’s a holdover from Oliver, because I always knew he’d leave me the second I wasn’t the girl he wanted me to be.”

Kate took a moment to think about this.

“Is that why you pierced your nose? Because you thought that’s what I’d want?” Kate asked, already knowing the answer.

Emaline chuckled. “I knew you were smart, Messner.”

Kate sighed and turned in her seat to fully face Emaline. “Em, I want you to take all the time you need. And I get that, at the end of that time, we might not be together again. But please, don’t change _anything_ about yourself for me, or anyone else. You’re _perfect_. I mean, god, the first time I ever laid eyes on you I was completely in lo-“

Kate _technically_ stopped herself before she shared too much, but both girls had known what she was going to say. Emaline’s eye’s watered from the sheer bittersweetness of the moment.

Kate sighed. “I _liked_ you well before the nose piercing. I’ve been crazy about you _every day_ since the first time I saw you in the cafeteria! I don’t think I’ve even looked twice at another girl since that day. And it didn’t have _anything_ to do with what you wore or what piercings you had. It was _you_. Your spirit, your confidence, _you_. Ok?”

Tears had started to fall down Emaline’s cheeks, and she could no longer help herself. She got up, pulled Kate to her feet, and kissed her. Kate’s lips and body responded immediately, as if they’d been _starved_ for this.

Emaline buried her hands in Kate’s hair and kissed her like she wasn’t sure she’d ever get to again.

After spending a few moments lost in each other, Emaline slowed the kissing down.

“I’m sorry; I know that was confusing,” Emaline breathed out, steadying herself.  “I do still need some time. But I couldn’t help it. I’ve _missed_ you.” She pulled Kate closer.

Kate sighed. “Ok, you _never_ have to apologize for _that_ ,” she joked, adding some much-needed levity to the situation. “But, I get it. It’s ok. Take all the time you need.” 

Kate wrapped her arms around Emaline and gave her a supportive squeeze, straightened herself up, and left the auditorium.

***

**_That night..._ **

Emaline sat on her bed, messily folded piles of clothes surrounding her. She was busy sorting through some sweatshirts and throwing the odd item into a box at the foot of her bed, when a lanky presence appeared in her doorway.

“You rang, m’lady?”

“Hey Oliver. Thanks for coming.”

“I was intrigued. After you told me to get lost, I assumed I wouldn’t be hearing from you again. Have you come to your senses? Ready to pick up where we left off?”

Emaline chuckled.

A few weeks ago, she’d wouldn’t have hesitated a moment before taking Oliver back. But now he just seemed…irrelevant.

“Not exactly.” She got up and grabbed a box off the floor. “Here. It’s all your stuff from before. Everything you ever gave me, and all the stuff I stole. Sorry.”

(She definitely _wasn’t_ sorry.)

Oliver was dumbfounded. “Are you serious? You’re just going to hand me a box and we’re done? After everything we've been through together?”

“It’s more closure than you gave me when you left,” Emaline pointed out. It didn’t sound angry, because she truly wasn’t anymore. Just resolved and ready to move on.

“Besides, there’s nothing more to say.”

“Whatever. You’re going to get bored and come back to me. And your hair looks stupid like that, by the way.”

Emaline unconsciously brought her hand to her messy bun, now coming loose a bit from all the sorting she’d been doing.

“Always a pleasure, Oliver.” Emaline closed her door in his face, and caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror.

Actually, she liked the way her hair showed off her neck when she wore it this way.

She sighed and got back to the task at hand. Before the night was through, she’d have a wardrobe full of things that _she_ liked. Nothing that Oliver had mentioned he’d liked, but that Emaline herself hated; nothing uncomfortable she’d worn only to get attention.

Only things she _liked_ herself in.

She was determined.

***

_**2 weeks later…** _

Even after all they’d been through, Kate Messner _still_ never expected the girl of her dreams to look twice at her.

She was at her locker, minding her own business, preparing for another evening of frozen lasagna, when out of the corner of her eye she saw her favorite blonde walking toward her.

Emaline looked different somehow. She looked _happy._  

She was wearing a simple blue sundress, her hair gathered up and away from her neck in a way that proved _very_ distracting for poor Kate.

After glancing around in disbelief to make sure this beautiful creature was, in fact, coming to talk to _her_ , Kate locked eyes with Emaline.

“Hi,” Kate said dreamily.

“Hi yourself,” Emaline grinned.

“Who are you, and what have you done with Emaline?” Kate’s eyes shamelessly raked over the simple blue dress, and more to the point, all the _skin_ it left exposed 

“This _is_ Emaline. She’s just been…asleep for a while. You should get used to it,” she winked.

Oh god. Was Kate imagining things, or was Emaline flirting? Was she ready to-

“I’m ready to be with you again,” Emaline finished Kate’s thought for her.  “Is that ok?”

Kate answered _that one_ with an immediate “yes,” too. But this time she didn’t hesitate to kiss her girlfriend afterward.

“Wait, wait,” Kate mustered the herculean self-control she needed to stop kissing Emaline. “Are…you sure you’re, like, _over_ things?”

Emaline smiled, touched that Kate cared enough about their relationship to want to get it right.

“Yes. I realized that being with Oliver just…magnified some things didn’t like about myself,” Emaline explained.  "And I needed to make sure I wasn't just using you to not deal with things," she admitted. “But, I’m finally handling my shit. I’m not saying I have everything figured out, but I feel comfortable enough to –“

Kate didn’t need to hear more. She cupped Emaline’s face and brought their lips together, where they belonged.  

When the need for oxygen slowed the kissing to a natural stopping point, Kate hugged Emaline close and buried her face in Emaline’s (beautifully) exposed neck. “Mmm, you should wear your hair up more often.”

“I will, sweetie,” chuckled Emaline. “I like it this way.”


End file.
